Excerpt from “Just a Bit Guarded”

Chapter One

“I want you to become my boyfriend’s bodyguard.”

Will Summers stared across the table at his cousin. “What?” Was it a joke?

But Scott repeated, “I want you to become my boyfriend’s bodyguard.”

“I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend,” Will said, keeping his voice low. In the past half a year in this country, he’d learned to be careful when they talked about his cousin’s sexuality. Dubai might be more cosmopolitan than other areas of the UAE, but that didn’t mean much. Just the other day he’d seen an article about some men being arrested for “public indecency”—a chaste kiss. Talking about Scott’s love life might be safe enough, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Scott shrugged, a sheepish smile curling his lips. “It’s kind of new. And to be fair, he isn’t my boyfriend yet. But I’d like him to be.” He leaned forward, his blue-gray eyes gleaming with excitement. “I know he’s The One for me, Will.”

Will scoffed. “You said the same about your previous boytoy—what was his name? Travis? He didn’t last two weeks.”

“This is different,” Scott said. “I’m in love, I swear.”

Will raised his eyebrows. For all of his cousin’s propensity for fleeting infatuations, it had been a while since he’d claimed to be in love. Possibly a year. “All right, I’ll humor you: you’re in love. Congratulations. Why do you want me to be your crush’s bodyguard?”

Scott grimaced and, looking around, lowered his voice. “He’s the son of the local sheikh. He has a security detail 24/7. I can’t get close to him at all. But if you become his—”

“Hold on,” Will said, frowning and leaning closer. “He’s the son of the sheikh of Dubai? Are you out of your mind?”

Scott gave a crooked smile. “I can’t help who I fall in love with, all right? The heart wants what the heart wants.”

“The heart?” Will said dryly. More like Scott’s dick.

Scott smirked. “All right, maybe not just my heart. But you’d understand if you saw him! He’s, like, the hottest little thing I’ve ever seen. Gorgeous lips and eyes and ass—”

“Scott,” Will said with a grimace. “I’m not interested in his… assets. And it doesn’t matter. Have you lost your mind? Don’t you understand how dangerous it is?”

“Of course I do! I’m not an idiot.” Scott’s expression became dreamy. “But he’s such an angel, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him. He’s The One for me, really.”

Will sighed inwardly. Maybe it was cynical of him, but it was hard to believe, considering that Scott seemed to find his so-called The One every other month. Will couldn’t say he could relate. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt more than mildly interested in anyone. If they didn’t look so alike—both tall, light-eyed brunets—Will would question their blood relationship.

“Are you really willing to go to jail for that guy?” Will said, pulling out his phone. He opened Google and searched for the sheikh of Dubai.

Hmm…

The sheikh of Dubai had three sons. The eldest was in his late thirties and married. He was also definitely not Scott’s type. The middle son was in his early thirties and objectively handsome, but his hard, cold gaze was unlikely to inspire such sappy nonsense.

The third son…

Will made a face as he studied the picture. The guy—the kid—was drop-dead gorgeous, he’d give him that. Wavy brown, tousled hair that nearly reached his neck. Stunning blue eyes. High cheekbones. Lush, pink mouth. He didn’t look like an Arab, but a glance at his Wikipedia page cleared up Will’s confusion: the kid had a British mother, who’d divorced the sheikh and left for the UK when the kid was six.

“He’s jailbait, Scott,” Will said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“He’s nineteen!”

Will gave him an incredulous look. If Wikipedia was to be believed, the kid had just turned nineteen. Today.

“And you’re twenty-seven,” Will ground out. “It’s creepy and gross. Not to mention a million other things. Suicidal among them.”

“I love him,” Scott declared. “He’s The One for me. Age is just a number anyway.”

Will drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. God give him patience. At times like this, he felt like he was older than Scott by ten years, not ten months. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Scott had always been the baby of his family, spoiled and doted over, while he had learned to fend for himself since he was a small boy. As an orphan who’d been kindly taken in by his uncle, he’d always felt like he had to earn his place in that family—and the world in general. It had made him grow up fast. When Scott was still playing PlayStation all day long, Will had already been earning a living.

But despite the differences in their circumstances and personalities, they’d always been close. Will had always considered Scott a little brother he had to look out for. And he had, for the past two decades. To be fair, it wasn’t just a one-way relationship. Scott, for all his spoiled ways, was a good guy at heart. It had been his idea to accompany Will abroad when Will’s client had moved his business to the UAE. Will had tried to talk Scott out of it—the UAE was hardly a place for an openly gay man—but Scott had been undeterred. He’d argued that as a trust fund baby, he could do whatever he wanted and that he didn’t want Will to be “all alone” in a foreign country. Will had scoffed at that, but truth be told, he had appreciated the sentiment, so he’d allowed Scott to tag along.

He would have refused had he known it would lead to this. This being the fact that Scott was about to do something monumentally stupid. More stupid than usual.

“Scott,” he said in his most patient voice. Thankfully, as a bodyguard, he’d learned to give a show of patience he didn’t feel. “Do you know what will happen to you if people find out about your relationship with him? This isn’t the US. People die here for stuff like that.” He glanced at the Wikipedia page again, and his lips thinned as he read further. “This kid is betrothed to the daughter of the president of the UAE. He isn’t exactly a low-profile, low-risk nobody.”

“The betrothal is a sham,” Scott said with a scoff. “Gadiel told me he was betrothed to her as a baby! He hasn’t even seen her face! Can you believe that?”

“I can,” Will said wryly. “Considering the country we are in. But my point stands. This is insanity. Not only are you risking your freedom and life, but realistically, you have no future together. He’s a local sheikh. You’re an American.”

“Gadiel wants to run away,” Scott said mulishly. “I will take him home with me.”

Will heaved a sigh, rubbing between his brows. This was a disaster in waiting. “All right,” he said. “Let’s say you manage to somehow get him out of the country. Do you think you won’t be pursued? Do you think his father and the fucking president of the UAE will just say oh well and let you two live your gay happily-ever-after in the US? And that’s without taking into account that he’s a nineteen-year-old kid who likely has no idea what he wants from life.”

Scott opened his mouth and closed it.

“I’m glad you see now how pointless it is,” Will said.

“Will, please.”

Will grimaced. He fucking hated that tone. “Don’t.”

“Please, I need to see him at least. Only you can help us.”

“Why? Is he locked up in his house?”

“No,” Scott said. “But his older brother, Sheikh Zain, knows about his sexuality and has him watched. Gadiel’s ‘bodyguard’ was actually a spy for his brother. I need you to become his bodyguard so I can see him without it being reported to his brother. Your contract has just ended! It’s actually perfect! Please? I’m begging you, man.”

Will sighed. Scott would pout and mope for months if he said no. Or Scott would go meet the kid anyway—and find trouble. “Are they even hiring for a bodyguard?”

“Yes!” Scott said, starting to smile. He already knew that he’d won. “Gadiel’s bodyguard has just been fired, so they’re looking for a new one. I immediately thought of you. You shouldn’t have an issue getting the job—Sheikh Zain seems to prefer foreign bodyguards for his brother.”

“Fine,” Will said. “But this is the last time, Scott.”

Scott grinned, looking smug and not surprised at all. He was too used to getting his own way.

Will really fucking hated him sometimes.

To be released on March 28th, 2025